Ashley R. Moore will be defending his PhD dissertation proposal at 1:00 pm on Tuesday, June 25th, in Room 1306A of Ponderosa Commons: Oak House (PCOH).
All are welcome to attend.
Supervisory Committee:
Research Supervisor: Dr. Ryuko Kubota,
Committee Members: Dr. Meghan Corella, Dr. Deirdre Kelly, Dr. Steven Talmy
Title: An investigation into the nature and causes of first language discomfort among Japanese plurilinguals.
Abstract:
Some Japanese plurilinguals have reported feelings of emotional discomfort when using or contemplating the use of their first language (L1), Japanese. Though such feelings seem to contradict the largely unproblematic relationship many plurilinguals enjoy with their L1, the nature and causes of first language discomfort (FLD) remain unexplored. Situating my proposed study within a critical realist philosophy of science, I aim to generate explanatory theory that can help us to understand both the nature of FLD and its causes among Japanese plurilinguals. To do so, I will seek to answer the following research questions; 1) Under what circumstances is FLD triggered/practiced? 2) How do participants experience/practice FLD? 3) What are the causes of FLD reported by some Japanese plurilinguals?
Given that this is an exploratory study, I will use critical realist grounded theory method (CRGTM), a nascent variant of grounded theory method (GTM) that combines the ontological, epistemological, and axiological assumptions of critical realism with GTM’s well-established data generation and analysis procedures. Data, including psycholinguistic histories (constructed through semi-structured interviews), language use journals and texts produced by the participants, will be synchronously generated and analysed, with my analytic reasoning gradually moving from close, inductive analysis to more abductive, increasingly abstract theoretical conceptualisation.
The resultant theory has the potential to further our understanding of the complex ways in which the linguistic, emotional and social worlds of plurilinguals overlap and interact. In addition, while the field of second language acquisition has typically focused on the attractive “pull” of the target language, its speakers and its contexts, my proposed study may well illuminate the darker—but perhaps no less powerful—forces that might push language learners away from their L1.
This event will take place on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) people.